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Bread Crumbs

New York University’s Deutsches Haus will present a roundtable discussion with experts on the radical right in Alpine Europe on Friday, April 23 from 4 to 7 p.m. The discussion, “Alpine Populism—The Radical Right in Austria and Switzerland, Northern Italy, and Southern Germany,” will take place at Deutsches Haus, 42 Washington Mews. For more information, call 212.998.8660 or visit www.deutscheshaus.as.nyu.edu. [Subway: R, W (Eighth Street/NYU); 6 (Astor Place)].

In most countries in the Alpine region, the radical right has emphatically forced itself onto the political landscape. The so-called Alpine republics of Austria and Switzerland are characterized by a persistently strong populist and radical right in their party systems, with the Freedom Party and the Swiss People’s Party, respectively. But also in Germany, the “Republikaner,” now faded into obscurity, emerged in the mid-1980s as a Bavarian offshoot of (Southern) German ultraconservatism, while in Italy the Lega Nord has its traditional stronghold in the lands south of the Alps. Against this backdrop, some scholars have argued there is a particular transnational Alpine culture which feeds such right-wing politics of protest, terror, and identity.

This roundtable brings together country experts who will discuss the current state of the radical right and explore to what extent there is a particularly “Alpine” quality to these parties.

The discussion will be chaired by Michael Minkenberg, Max Weber Chair for German and European studies (NYU). Participants include Anton Pelinka (CEU Budapest); Damir Skenderovic (University of Fribourg); and Piero Ignazi (University of Bologna). Discussants include Sylvia Maier (NYU) and Martin Schain (NYU).